Length of blade.

[Dragontigertatoo]

Anyone out there know the legal length for a knife in Texas?



It is better to be tried by twelve than carried by six - Sammy Franco

[Formerly Nervous]

my recomendation to you is 1)wright your city hall and ask specifically for city ordanance on the legal limits and/or restrictions of carrying knives...this prevents you from violating city ordanance yet staying with in the usually more 'loose' state laws.. also by wrighting you get a reply in wrighting...so if you do go to court you have proof that you made a "reasonable attempt" at being aware of the laws and following them. If you call and just say "i spoke to 'judy' at city hall" they will reply "judy who?" and you will have no defence in lawfully carrying your knife.
2) repeat this procedure with capitol hill... requesting the legal guidelines and restrictions on carrying a knife in TX. Again, you will have proof that you atleast made the responsible attempt at following the law ...its timely and like any thing you do with the GOV it takes patience ... but if you ever end up in court its really nice to have something on papper to back you up.

[Sword and Shield]

A side note, which may seem obvious, though many don't think of it: Follow the most restrictive of the laws. If legal carry in your city is 4", state 3.5", keep it under 3.5".

This seems like a very simple concept, but many people just follow local laws.

Keepin' it real...real sharp, that is.

5.5" blade limit, folding or fixed.
For specifics do a net search for Texas' penal code, or go to the local library, Chapter 46 covers weapons and their definitions, restrictions and
exemptions.

[ftkinney]

KenN is right state law is 5.5" concealed but i think if it is on a sheath exposted it can be longer. i'm from rockport tx, on the gulf on mexico and the city law was like 3.5" or 4" while the surrounding county just went by the state law.

FTK

[ftkinney]

ooops.

Edited by - ftkinney on 11/25/2001 1:02:27 PM

Sword and Shield,
If state laws overrode all local laws, there wouldn't be any benfit in local jurisdictions having local laws. I don't see why if one knows and can back up exactly what their rights are(and where they drop off) ,that they shouldn't enjoy the full benefit of being a member of a particular community/county.IMO
If lawmakers see that citizens are willing to follow more restrictive laws, you can bet they'll push it a bit farther every year, all around. I personally can't imagine living in a country where 3" blades are considered unneccessarily big and dangerous to the public.

Ken

[haji]

It's always been that way: State laws supercede local ones, and federal laws supercede state laws. The local jurisdiction can pass more stringent requirements of law, but cannot be more lax. These is a characteristic of English common law, which American jurisprudence came forth from.

[ellylab]

I found a site that lists every State and their particular law. Go to: "http://www.knifeart.com/knifeart/kniflawbysta.html". It also covers the airlines (old law, so really useless) and Canada.

[zatoichi]

You can also call the NON-EMERGENCY number of your local law enforcement agency and ask an on-duty officer what the limit is....most of the time, they know and would be happy to help 'cause they don't want non-criminals walking around with large knives, or just ask your lawyer for those of you who have a lawyer.... that's what I did.